February 2011 Newsletter

We gathered for dinner after worship on January 23, and I was wonderfully surprised at the banner that read, “Pastor’s Appreciation Day” with a lovely snowman painted on the end.  The spread of food looked amazing and tasted even better.  It is a great joy to share a meal in Fellowship Hall, large such as it was that Sunday, as well as the lovely meals Sunday evenings and the first Wednesdays of the month (it will be baked potatoes this Feb. 2).  Yet the surprise did not end there. I was honored, humbled and extremely thankful for the Proclamation of “Pastor J.C. Mitchell” day, a desk plaque, and the greatest gift, a basket of cards from various congregants (the children’s being the most dear and smile producing).  I thank everyone who helped surprise me with such a wonderful honor, and everyone that celebrated with us that Sunday afternoon.  Mindi, A.J., and I are very thankful and honored to be part of such a wonderful and loving congregation: our family.

Each week, while we may not share a meal in Fellowship Hall, everyone is welcome to come back Sunday evenings at 5:30 PM to do just that as well as stay and hear some wonderful music and enjoy a study; or if a child, a fun night of educational fun and games.  We also share the wonderful meal of the Lord’s Table during worship.  This is central to our worship and our identity as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). “In 1991 The Commission of Theology, a working group of our Council on Christian Unity, stated in 'Report to the Church on the Lord’s Supper' that the Lord’s Supper is a means by which we are nourished in the love of God in Jesus Christ and united with the church universal ‘is a truth the Disciples are made aware of more surely by our partaking of the Supper than by any statements we make about it.’”  (Kinnamon, Michael;  We Are Disciples: 2009)   This is both because each person’s relationship with Jesus is personal, and the breaking and sharing of the bread has numerous theological implications.  We are reminded of the sacrifice, the new covenant, the gathering of believers at one table, the banquet in heaven, the resurrection, and  the great Love and forgiveness of God for all of us (and I am sure you can add more thoughts, for it is in our partaking that we know Jesus).  We keep the Table central to our worship and identity, knowing it is Jesus who invites to this open table.

In the Gospel of John, the Last Supper is depicted differently from the synoptic Gospels.  John tells us it is the night before the Passover and describes Jesus washing His disciples’ feet.  During this Last Supper our Lord Jesus demonstrates a wonderful example of leadership.  Jesus knows He will go to the cross, taking on our sins, and thus tells His disciples, and us today, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  I feel the love at First Christian Church; let us share the invitation to the Table, to the Love, to each other, and beyond the church walls.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor J.C. Mitchell

The Great Commission Begins

Matthew 4: 12-23

When I was in High School, my friends and I would “hang-out” in the library.  This was in part because we were generally nerds either on the debate team or National Honor Society, or both.  For fun we would scour the microfilms and microfiche for interesting articles or pictures.  It was our internet.  We would debate and make games on various information and thus for fun we would debate the meaning of certain words.  We would look them up in the various dictionaries and determine who had a better grasp of the meaning of the word in question.  I can clearly remember the time we were looking in the “W’s” and I saw the definition for woman.  I know we were not looking up the meaning of that word, for even though we certainly did not understand women, we were smart enough to know the dictionary would be of no value to us to understand.  What I did notice was the small “n” and small “v” in the definition.  I knew that woman was a noun, but I had never thought of the word as a verb.  I then looked around the library and realized it was womaned by great librarians.  (It is true that not every dictionary has woman as a verb, but it is clear that it was once a verb, meaning “to equip or staff with women” or “to put into the company of a woman” as per Dictionary.com)  The point of this, is not about inclusive language, but that a word can mean something to us today, and we lost part of the meaning, and specifically in this case a tense.

Today’s word is μαθητεύω (Matheteuo).  Which in the ancient Greek was a verb, yet it is often translated as a noun.  The word is disciple as a verb, or “to make disciples.” In today’s scripture, we learn of Jesus’ first call of His disciples, near the sea of Galilee.  This is actually really where the Great Commission begins, with Jesus’ preaching, teaching, and healing, and at the crossroads of Israel and the Gentile nations.  This was not understood in entirety until the resurrection, when Jesus asks his followers to go back to Galilee and He gives them the Great Commission.  Matthew 28: 16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

They and thus we were told to do exactly this, and we see the term make disciples and miss that it really is a verb.  Even in English the word disciple is a verb and a noun.  The noun is someone that follows the teachings of someone, generally assumed Jesus, capitalized it means a member of our denomination, but the verb tense is considered archaic and means to teach.  Thus the above highlighted text should just say “disciple” or “teach,” for the “make disciples” hints that the goal is to make more nouns and not do the verb.  Hope that makes some sense.

Let us return to the fishing metaphor Jesus used when He called the first disciples.  When one fishes even for a living it is about getting fish, but there is a lot of knowledge and preparation that must be mastered to allow for the full nets.  This is hinted at in the scripture, first of all that James and John sat with their father, implying that they learned the vocation of fishing from him, and they sat their mending their nets.  This reminds me of the adage, “watch the pennies and the dollars will follow.”  A good fisherman would know that there is a lot of preparation, knowledge, patience, and skill, to be awarded with the fish.  Even today when we successfully accomplish something that we did with preparation, knowledge, patience, and skill, we rightly thank God. 

When we try to fulfill the Great Commission we must remember that the first Disciples were told they would be fishing for people, and as fishermen, would understand the metaphor as the work they would do for God to provide the outcome.  The word, μαθητεύω, should be a verb to us and let the noun be for God.  Just as when I lower someone into the baptismal waters, it is God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus, who baptizes, not I the pastor, I am just there doing.  We are to teach, to disciple and as any good teachers will tell you when you teach you learn, and God will make disciples.

God’s Time

John 2:1-11

When Mary finds out there is no more wine at this wedding, she turned to her son, who replied that it was not their concern and his “hour” time had not come.  His mother then says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  She is not claiming to know it is His time, but she is confident in His authority and desire to help.  Sure enough Jesus does decide to help, and according to John this whole miracle was about revealing His Glory.  It is Jesus’ hour, and that is a major point of this paricope.  Time is essential to this first miracle, this is highlighted by the introduction as specifically three days, Jesus’ mention of His “hour,” and most of all John’s commentary that this miracle was the first and thus the disciples believed, because His glory was revealed.

Today we are obsessed with time.  We are obsessed with the instant.  We need things instantly, coffee, tea, whatever you need.  Our calendars are generally now electronic and to the minute.  Our clocks (at least on the computer) update themselves.  Athletes compete to the hundredths of a second and instant replay has become common for many.   There are a lot of positive things to this obsession with time and the instant and there are negatives, as well, this scripture though speaks to time then and now.

Thinking about the instant, I can not help but to think of photography.  Today most pictures are taken with digital cameras or what we call phones.  Not only is the image of an “instant” of reality, we can share it instantly.  How many times have you had your picture taken and the photographer turns the camera around to show you the captured image?  I remember in Jamaica on a mission trip, the children who did not have cameras (let alone digital) would run to see the picture I took, which made a second take difficult.  This is very different from how I did photography in high school and college.  Not very long ago, but in a very different format, I was capturing “instants” with my camera.  This would involve taking a picture with my camera, that itself meant focusing, setting the aperture and speed as per the lighting and film.  Finishing the film with other photographs, rewinding the film and then in a bag that did not allow any light in, I would spool the film on a reel, then develop the film, dry it overnight.  Then cut and put in the enlarger to expose a piece of photographic paper.  I would also use dodging and burning to correct areas of the photo, develop the image as long as I thought, then stop it and fix it in those respective solutions.  Dry the paper over night and then mat the image.  Eventually I would share the image by either an art show or informally.  This generally took weeks before I would share the “instant” I had captured on film, and today, I may take a picture, upload it to the web and have someone across the world make a comment on it within a minute.  It is amazing what has changed in twenty years, and yet the truth is the aesthetic of a good photograph really has not changed.

The miracle of the water becoming wine is written by John with a lot of detail, the conversations between Jesus and His mother and the chief steward and the servants, the specifics of the stone purification jugs, but when the water becomes wine is not specified.  Usually when the Gospel writers speak of Jesus healing someone, they mention when, generally “immediately.”  We even know the woman that touched His cloak was cured instantly, and that is how Jesus knew to ask who touched Him.  This is why I notice that John does not say exactly when the water became wine.  Was it when the water poured into the jugs?  Was it when they were filled?  Was it as they sat there a minute?  When the sample was taken or as it was taken to the chief steward?  Or was it when it touched his lips?  We will never know, we simply know that the miracle happened. 

Before I tackle when the miracle happens, I must explain why the miracle of wine.  This miracle is about Jesus revealing His glory and thus the start of the new era.  The wine is a symbol of a new era coming as per both Amos and Joel. 

The time is surely coming, says the Lord,
   when the one who ploughs shall overtake the one who reaps,
   and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
   and all the hills shall flow with it.  (Amos 9:13)

 

On that day
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
   the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the stream beds of Judah
   shall flow with water;
a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord
   and water the Wadi Shittim.  (Joel 3:18)

You will notice that Amos says the “time is surely coming”  and Joel says “On that day,” and the major sign is dripping sweet wine.  This is to be the sign of the age to come, that Jesus ushers in.  And surely six containers of at least 20 gallons would be plenty of wine for a wedding in Cana.  We know there was wine already at the wedding, why didn’t Jesus just ask the servants to fill the empty containers?  Doubling the wine would have surely been sufficient.   However, this miracle was to demonstrate the beginning of a new era, and it is defined by the old forms of Judaism being filled with new content; not replacing Judaism, rather Jesus fulfills The Torah (the Law).  This new era has begun and we know it as well, as the Holy Spirit fills us at our baptism; our old form is filled with the new content of the One Spirit of Love.

When I was a photographer, it would take me a lot of time before I had what I would term a photograph.  I shared the process above, and emphasize that it was only when I “framed” the photo would it be a photograph.  Many instants were left as film, or on paper in my folder. Today it may be quicker, but I have digital images I delete, and some that I have saved but I have not shared on facebook, on my phone, or in print, and those are not photographs.  It is only the images I upload or even simply turn the camera around to share with someone that truly become pictures (not necessarily good).  It is the act of sharing that defines when the captured instant becomes a visual art, a photo.

It does not matter when the water becomes wine.  It became wine and if it just sat there it was not a miracle.  When the wine was shared, that is the miracle, when it is known it is Jesus who reveled His Glory and that was shared.  We are each filled with the Holy Spirit and we are thus charged to share this with others.  We go creating miracles by sharing Jesus’ new era for humanity and every individual. 

Baptismal Witness

Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17

The Jordon River defines Israel.  I do not simply mean geographically.  Just as Noah and seven other from his family were saved by God, the Hebrews were saved through the Red Sea as we know, and completed when the people were delivered through the Jordon River led by Joshua.  The Promised Land was was acquired by military victory.  The salvation was completed through violence.  I do not believe God desired this type of salvation, rather God wanted the Chosen People to follow God, alone, but humanity could not comprehend God’s salvation.  The Hebrew scriptures are full of God’s compassion as well as the victories over the inhabitants of the land west of the Jordon River.  Their salvation was defined by that river, in that, those promised that land were saved by the one true God. 

Peter and all the disciples, too were confused about salvation as they also awaited for a Messiah that would save them from the oppression of Rome.  They truly thought Jesus came simply for those of Israel.  That was the question for first century followers of Christ, “Could non-Jews, gentiles, be saved?” (Not if Jews would be saved?) Paul is clear on that of course the gentiles could receive salvation, but Peter and James, among others, believed at first, as good Jewish men, that Jesus came to the Chosen People and one had to follow Jewish Law to accept the Messiah and His salvation.  This conflict is hinted at through out the New Testament, and Jesus often pushes the envelope to include those outside the Jewish people, the most famous is the story of the Good Samaritan.  Yet I share with you the story of the Canaanite Woman were even Jesus seems to suggest (at first) that He came only for the Jews, Matthew 15:21-28:

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

Clearly it was an issue that some believed Jesus came to the “lost sheep of Israel,” and had to be convinced that Jesus brought salvation to all.  This sermon that Peter preached (Acts 10) was the culmination of answering that very question, who could be saved.  The greatest voice Peter listened to, was that of God’s through his visions and sending him to the centurion Cornelius’ home (Acts 10).  Peter realized Jesus did not come only for the Jews, but for all humanity.  Thus Peter says, “God shows no partiality…He is Lord of All.”  We know Jesus came and made it clear that salvation was available for the whole world.

John the Baptist was baptizing people in the first century, and there were other Jewish sects that did that same, for various reasons.  John baptized preaching, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  Jesus did not need to repent or be washed clean of sin, for He has no sin, but He asked to be baptized.  This was to change the meaning of this rite and the river.  No longer would it be simply a washing of sin, but a reflection and commitment that we participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus, which opens salvation to all.  Matthew writes, “suddenly the heaven was opened to Him.”  Thus salvation was no longer about being rescued in the earthly sense, but rescued from sin.  Peter understood what baptism is for us and writes in 1 Peter 3:18-22

For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

No longer would the Jordon River define the chosen people, no longer would it be a boundary, rather it becomes the heart of salvation.  Both sides of the river could be freed by Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Salvation came from this sacrifice that came with no retaliation.  Thus Salvation was made known without violence.  Victory was gained when the heaven was opened to us through our Lord Jesus death and resurrection, and our baptism is a witness to this salvation.

It’s the Little Things make the New Year (Daily Democrat)

Daily Democrat Dec. 31, 2010

“Little things” are the best presents.  I don’t mean a smaller gift, rather those small things we notice.  A favorite in my house, I’ve heard, is when dishes are washed, especially without request.  During Christmas many of us exchanged gifts, but I am sure most of you were more touched by a “little thing.”  

Jesus told us that “‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches’” (Matthew 13: 31-32). Making it clear that just as something so little as a mustard seed becomes a home for birds, so is our faith.   Jesus teaches us, “…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)  It is not the moving of mountains or a large sign that tells us to have faith.  It is the “little things.”

So what are the “little things” that expand into the Kingdom of God for you?  Is it someone holding the door?  Children doing things without being asked?  Seeing a lovely bird of God’s Creation?  A sunset?  There are of course numerous “little things” that reminds us that God is calling us and loving us.  If someone wants God to be revealed by a large sign, remind them it is the “little things” in which miracles and faith start to grow into the whole Kingdom of God.  We are to find these manifestations of the Divine and let them grow until the Kingdom of God is on earth as it is in Heaven. 

Jesus came to live among us, and just like us came as a baby, and that is the greatest “little thing” I received this Christmas, or for that matter, in my life.  This King of all Kings grew into a man that would bring atonement to the world.  To know Jesus as your Redeemer and Savior allows you to have a faith that grows by seeing all the “little things” that reveal God’s glory and grace in the world.  Let us go into the New Year looking and sharing glimpses of Jesus’ Divine Love, with the help of the Holy Spirit, so more will do the same, and our mustard seed faith will become home for every person.

Gifts of Prophecy

Matthew 2: 1-15

Christmas gifts are wonderful to give and receive.  And in my home our boy who is just two still does not expect or understand gifts.  He enjoyed many of the new items, including a shirt box and a empty tube.  In my family we receive and exchange Christmas tree ornaments each year.  It is wonderful to look at our tree each year and remember and recollect on the pass years.  Some especially from my childhood are slipping from my memory and/or are physically deteriorating.    My first ornament that started the tradition was given to me when I was but six months old.  It is a small glass bird, but I have no memory of that gift, save the memories of being told about it by my mother.  I recall she went out in the snow on Christmas Eve to get this special gift that started this Christmas tradition that now spans three generations. 

The Magi brought three gifts to Jesus.  Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, are gifts one would present a king.  Gold is of course very valuable, but so were the special resins, Myrrh being more valuable then gold at times in the ancient world, because of its scarcity.  The child Jesus I assume enjoyed playing with the boxes more then the gifts themselves, if not for Him acting like all other toddlers, but because the gifts were way too valuable for a family of meager means.  A family that would need to finance an extended stay in Egypt.  Once he was old enough to understand, I imagine His parents shared the story of the wonderful visit of the foreign Magi, and Joseph’s dream to save the family from Herod’s infanticide.

Jesus must have known He was Divine, yet being also fully human I know He must have pondered these gifts.  Why would they bring gifts for a king to a child of meager means?  Why were they foreigners who knew of His heavenly kingship?  And why Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?  Of course Gold, was a valued metal as it is still today, and both incenses were of great value, but of course these foreigners from the East would bring treasures from their land that was not native to Israel.  It would had been strange enough for this poor family to have Gold and frankincense, but it was the myrrh that certainly seemed the most prophetic.   

In learning the Jewish religion, Jesus would be exposed to the Torah.  Within the tradition God was present in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple, and to anoint the altar and the priests there is a recipe for holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:33).   The recipe includes other ingredients especially cinnamon and oil, but the text begins with liquid myrrh, thus concentrated, and verse 32 states, “It shall not be used in any ordinary anointing of the body, and you shall make no other like it in composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.”  This is interesting first of all because Jesus is the “anointed one,” the Christ (in Greek).  And why does God tell Moses to have this anointing perfume created?  This was to anoint the priests and the altar for the worship of God, and as specifically mentioned in verse 10 of Chapter 30, for the yearly rite of atonement.  This is the pivotal point.  Jesus will fulfill the law, the Torah.  It will not be a yearly rite, rather one horrific sacrifice of this anointed one, and atonement becomes communicable through the resurrection of the Christ.

Joseph hears God in a dream to save the child from death, as it was not simply Jesus’ mission to die, but to love, heal, and preach the good news.  Knowing full well that humanity would reject this perfect love with violence.  Herod’s fear and distrust that lead to lying and infanticide foreshadows, Jesus’ passion.  Rejected by His own people and the powers and violently killed, the young boys whose sins were that of babes were slaughtered by the King that should have protected them.  The Magi foretold that this child was not simply the King of Israel, but the King of the entire world. 

Can you imagine being a child that ponders these strange gifts, reserved for earthly kings?  Coming across the recipe for the anointing perfume and knowing it relates to not simply the yearly atonement but something even more profound and important.  A one time atonement for all, even beyond the Jordon and to the ends of the earth.  And perhaps while in Egypt learning that myrrh was a primary ingredient in preparing their dead, Jesus knew that people and powers would react like Herod.  However, as the King of Kings, as the anointed one, atonement would be achieved through His blood, and known by the resurrection.  Like a star that shows us the way.

January Newsletter (Pastor's Pondering)

“Appearance” or “manifestation,” are the English words for the Koine Greek word epiphaneia, epiphany.  The feast day of Epiphany is the day after the twelve days of Christmas, January 6.  In the Western tradition we celebrate the Magi’s arrival, the manifestation to the non-Jewish nations, the Gentiles. In the Eastern Tradition, it commemorates Jesus’ baptism and thus His being revealed to the world.  Many will also commemorate His dedication to the temple and/or His first miracle, as both commemorate Jesus’ appearance to the world.   This celebration and season of the church year is important as we are looking for the manifestation of Christ.

During the season we are not looking for Christ historically, or just in our Bibles, but in our very lives.  We are to seek and search our soul, our relationships, our body, and our hopes for the hand of Jesus.  We will find His work and His Love.  When we experience the appearance and manifestation of Jesus, we will agree with Simeon’s words in Luke 2:29-32:

“‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,  which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles  and for glory to your people Israel.’”

We know that the Jesus is our Salvation and available to everyone, so let us keep our “eyes” open for His manifestation in our very lives. 

Knowing Christ revealed in our lives and our church should compel us to share this news with others.  I encourage everyone to share what Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “Come and See,” with friends, family, and especially the stranger.  What a wonderful invitation to receive from someone who has “seen” the manifestation of God, “Come and See.”

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor J.C.